Open Lumbar Sympathectomy on Buerger’s Disease: A Case Report

Abstract

Thromboangiitis obliterans known as Buerger's disease is a nonatherosclerotic, progressive inflammatory disease that affects small and medium arteries in the upper and lower extremities. Strong relationship was found between the development of this disease and the patient's history of smoking. We reported a case of 50-year-old male with progressive pain in fingers of right leg with darkened ulcer. Open lumbar sympathectomy is a procedure that is rarely performed nowadays, but progressive pain in buerger’s disease patients can be managed with this procedure. The aim of sympathectomy is to reduce sympathetic response causing vasodilation effect which will reduce rest pain.